Now, a little background on my mom. She's a rock in situations like this, real even keeled. Me, not so much (I don't do well in emergencies). Anyway, mom gets through these situations and is super strong, then when they are over, she takes her moment to break down.
Me "Why is dad in the ER?"
Mom "He was lightheaded at work and having problems remembering things and he kept zoning out. It might be mini strokes."
Me "Ok, I'll be there right away. Is he ok?"
Mom "He seems to be, they are running tests."
So, I rearranged my day and headed to the hospital. My dad is going to give me a heart attack, this isn't his first emergency.
I called Jon on my way there, I was a mess on the phone. I couldn't stop crying. I was praying, crying, texting, praying, crying, facebooking. Not my safest trip somewhere, but I needed prayers for my dad.
I got to the hospital, made my way to his room, rushed in and gave him the biggest hug and just lost it.
They had already done an EKG and blood work. They still planned on doing at least a cat scan. He was also hooked up to an IV with fluids because of mild dehydration. They weren't sure what had happened, but they mentioned mini strokes. My dad was hoping it was just anxiety from dealing with the end of the year inventory at the school. Mom said that he was very disoriented when she got to the hospital, but by the time I got there he was much more lucid.
After the cat scan they decided to do an MRI. The doctor also ordered a sonogram to look at his carotid arteries and an echocardiogram.
And so we waited... and waited... and waited. The nurse came in at 3:30 and asked if the doctor had talked to us. We said no. She replied "Oh, well he was supposed to, but I think he's gone for the day now." What? Really? I mean I guess it wasn't life threatening, because I assume he would have come in, but really, who knows.
My dads friends, Tom & Sandra, came by to pray with him and I can't tell you how much that meant.
The nurse informed us that they were going to keep my dad over night for observations and to get those other 2 tests done. My dad wasn't thrilled, but we didn't give him a choice. She also told us that they were having a neurologist do a consult.
They moved my dad up to a room and the neurologist came in and did a few memory tests and a few physical tests (for strokes). He passed both tests. (I even had a hard time with the memory one!) The Dr said that it could have been a mini stroke which would have effected his memory and made him light headed and spacey; however, he's know more after reading the MRI.
So now we wait... and wait... and wait for answers. I pray with all my heart that it's something minor that can easily be fixed.
I know that I'll never be ready to lose him, but I'm really not ready, yet. He's still so young and has many, many, many more years left.
So, for now, I leave you with this poem I wrote for him for his birthday years ago:
Dad you’ll never realize
The times I cherished being with you
It was late night plays, weekend matinees
And Chinese lunches, too
It was baseball games
Those many nights
Arena football
And hockey fights
It was actions, cuts and strike the sets
It was props and wardrobes , too
It was Dracula and the Pajama Game
And just spending time with you
It’s the way you’ve always loved me
Whether I deserved it or not
You make me feel so grateful
That I thank God for what I’ve got
I hope you have a great day
Celebrating your birth
I hope that at least one person
Tells you how much your worth
to the moon and back,
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